Waste to Energy

Waste To Power South Australia Overview

WtP SA's project comprises numerous technologies, refined over long periods of time, which can be broken down broadly into two portions, Waste to Energy and Carbon Capture. They work symbiotically in order to produce a total waste processing package with zero-emissions and 4 revenue streams.

The Waste to Energy Portion is explored on this page.

Collection, Transport, Receiving, and Storage

Our journey starts with the collection of unrecyclable municipal solid waste (MSW) from the streets of Adelaide. Once loaded onboard the garbage truck, the waste is transported to the WtP SA facility.

Weigh Bridge

Upon entering the site the truck will pass across an automated weigh bridge system which logs the truck registration, weight, and waste type for documenting, tracking, and regulatory purposes.

The data is captured in near real-time allowing for fast and high precision throughput of waste into our collection system.

Air Curtain & Tipping Hall

The truck continues through automatic doors into the tipping hall. The entrance consists of an air curtain that forms a barrier and creates negative pressure in the hall preventing any potential odours from escaping during the brief opening.

Waste is tipped into the waste pit for storage and processing, before the truck leaves the facility via the weigh bridge to calculate the unloaded weight.

Waste Pit & Grab Crane

Waste is stored in the waste pit for 3 to 7 days in order to dry-out, breakdown, and release any leachates/wastewater into the water treatment system for purification.

During this time, the intelligent management system, under supervision by an operator, controls the grab crane to accurately mix and sort the waste to be sent for processing.

Waste-Water Treatment System

The waste-water and leachate extracted from MSW is sent through the water treatment system which removes impurities, toxins, and biological matter while balancing pH to produce clean fresh water.

Leachate Filtering

The leachate is first filtered to remove particulate matter which is returned to the waste pit.

Neutralization & Purification

The filtered water is then neutralized to balance pH and purified to remove dissolved metals, plastics and other chemical contaminants.

Sanitation to Fresh Water

Finally the water is sanitized to eliminate any remaining organic or biological impurities, leaving clean fresh water.

Waste Processing & Electricity Generation

The dried waste is crushed, treated at high temperature, and it's energy extracted using a turbine to output 13 MW of electricity.

Feeder & Crusher

After the allocated time in the waste pit, the dried waste is lifted by the crane into the crushing chute where it is ground down to 8 cm diameter chunks for treatment.

Energy Extraction

The waste chunks move into the incinerator where they are optimally burnt at >850°C to release energy, flue gas, and slag which go to separate processes.

Electricity Generation

The energy from the waste maintains the high temperature while heating water in the boiler drum into steam as in most generators. The steam turns a turbine which produces the 13 MW of electricity.

Flue Gas & Fly Ash Treatment Systems

The slag is used as fly ash in carbon capture products, and flue gases go through patented purification processes to prevent harmful emissions in line with and far exceding international standards. Carbon dioxide from the flue gas continues onto the carbon capture processes.

Slag Extractor & Ash Pit

The slag, approximately 3% by volume of waste, cannot be incinerated. It falls into a slag pool where it cools and becomes fly ash in the slag extractor system.

Fly ash is collected and sent to the carbon capture process to add value to the created products, improving their strength and utility.

Scrubbers and Purifiers

The flue gas travels through a range of reactors, collectors, scrubbers, and filters to remove fly ashes, heavy metals, organic & plastic compounds, volatile acids, and other harmful gases.

Through extensive refinement, the patented technology catches and eliminates these pollutants, far exceeding any local or international standards, approaching the lowest practical limits.

Carbon Dioxide & Monitoring

Finally the ultra-pure flue gas travels through an online monitoring system which records and reports gas quality data to operators and regulators to ensure it is not harmful to the environment.

Carbon dioxide is recorded and transmitted into the carbon capture processes to create valuable carbon-negative recycled construction products.

Waste to Power South Australia